Depth of Alabama Basketball Shows Up in 4OT Win over No. 1 North Carolina
Things have been pretty easy on the court for Brandon Miller so far during his freshman season. But Sunday night against the No. 1 team in the country, he was struggling offensively.
Miller did finish with 14 points but shot 4-of-21 from the floor against North Carolina. Couple that with fellow freshman starter Noah Clowney going out early with an injury, and Alabama had to have other players step up.
Mark Sears, Jahvon Quinerly and Charles Bediako answered the call. All three finished with season highs in points as the Crimson Tide beat the Tar Heels 103-101 in quadruple overtime.
Sears was hot from beyond the arc in the first half going 4 for 5 on 3-point attempts and finished with 24 points. Quinerly came off the bench and had 21 points and eight assists. Bediako was huge down in the paint and on the boards for the Crimson Tide during the overtime periods.
The sophomore forward was challenged by head coach Nate Oats before the game to start playing better basketball. He had six points and eight points at the end of regulation. In the overtime periods, he added eight more points and eight rebounds to finish with a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds, earning him the blue collar award for the game.
"A lot of guys stepped up and made plays," Oats said. "Sears was huge. We needed somebody to score for us when Brandon was struggling. They did a great job on Brandon. It definitely wasn’t Brandon’s night, so for us to get a win when Brandon struggled as much as he did. I thought we needed some other guys to step up, and Sears stepped up and made some big shots and led us in scoring.”
Noah Gurley and Jaden Bradley also had double figures in scoring coming off the bench. Even without a starter and its best player struggling, the depth of Alabama was able to stand toe-to-toe with the top-ranked team in the country for four overtimes and eventually come out on top.
"It just shows our resiliency," Quinerly said after the game. "We didn’t quit. Four overtimes is crazy. I’m still processing game myself because it was a lot. I’m just proud of the guys, especially the younger guys. Brandon struggled a little bit today, and he was still locked in on defense. You don’t really see that often from a stud like him… It just shows our younger guys are really willing to fight."
Oats did not provide an injury update on Clowney after the game, but the ESPN broadcast said he was unlikely to return in the game with a hip contusion.
Alabama was riding high at the start of the Phil Knight Invitational, coming out with a 81-70 win over No. 12 Michigan State on Thanksgiving night. After losing to No. 20 UConn Friday night, Sunday's matchup with the Tar Heels was pivotal. It wouldn't hurt the resumé to lose to North Carolina, but it would mean Alabama left Portland with a 1-2 record in the tournament.
The Crimson Tide had multiple opportunities to win, especially at the end of regulation and the first overtime period, but continued to show grit when things didn't go its way and came away with the win in the fourth overtime for the first win over a No. 1 team since 2004. And now No. 18 Alabama heads home with a 2-1 record in the tournament and 6-1 record overall heading back to Coleman Coliseum for a matchup with South Dakota State Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
"It’s definitely a statement win," Quinerly said. "I said it before, and I'm gonna keep saying it again, you know, we’ve got a young group. We had every reason to give away the game tonight, and our younger guys fought. And we just fought as a team. It goes to show our resiliency as a group… I think guys are going to be more locked in going into South Dakota State."
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Alabama Basketball Upsets No. 1 North Carolina in Four Overtimes, 103-101
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